Where the Rubber Hits the Road

Archbishop Tim Dolan (NY) posted this excellent article on his blog addressing the current spate of cries calling for radical 'reforms' or 'harmonization' of Church teaching to current mores.  Gotta love these JPII & B16 appointments to the episcopate. Some have failed to make the grade but many have excelled at 'preaching, governing and sanctifying' the Church and effectively engaging with modern culture at the same time. +Dolan, +Chaput in the US, +Smith, +Prendergast, +Henry and +Collins in Canada are a few who rank  among the best of them! What ever they offer is well worth reading for any serious Catholic. Preserving Our Faith « The Gospel in the Digital Age

Whispers in the Loggia: Hints of "Dawn"

Archbishop Charles Chaput (Denver) IF the day should ever come that I would leave my beloved Ottawa Valley Diocese of Pembroke, and were to leave the country, the Dioceses headed by the Archbishops mentioned in this story would be my destination. These men are orienting their diocese in the right direction, choosing to engage the argument in defense of faith in the Public Square. It would be an honor to harness myself to the team that is being guided with such wisdom. In Canada men like Archbishops Collins (Toronto) and Smith (Edmonton) and Bishop Henry (Calgary) are also working towards the same goal. They too are a blessing for the Church in North America. With the elevation of Cardinal Ouellet to the Congregation of Bishops in Rome, and with the imminent replacement of over 50% of the Bishops in Quebec over the next five years (as they reach 75 years of age), the chances for other like minded Bishops throughout the province are future is pregnant with hope for better times in ...

I've been saying this for years! It is time for the church to go on the offensive in trying to answer its critics. Failure to do so is counted not in convictions or cases but in souls lost to God. At least the latest set of attacks have brought some Bishops into the public square to defend the faith and its leaders. Still not enough though. Bishops Collins (Toronto), Smith (Edmonton) and Henry (Calgary) have set the example that their brother priests need to follow. PLEASE PRAY that more Canadian Bishops will find the courage to do the same. Fr. Tim Catholics' ties to church tested by crisis

Working as I do within the beauty of the Ottawa Valley, I see many cars pass by from “la belle province” emblazoned with the motto “je me souviens” imprinted on each licence plate. These words is a declaration of the desire of the majority francophone people to  “remember” the struggles of “la révolution tranquille” (the Quiet Revolution) ; an epoch which transformed Quebec society into the modern secular state, within whom the francophone population, seemingly all at once, have turned a deaf ear to the voice of the Catholic Church within their culture. They've chosen instead to follow the siren cry of the modern secularist project. In the wake this sudden shift, the Catholic Church was  rendered  impotent and irrelevant in the minds of the overwhelming majority of the Quebec population. Within the few years of the Quiet Revolution, virtually 400 years of Catholic practice had vanished.   The most graphic illustration of this variation can be seen in statistics re:...

John Allen writes in the National Catholic Reporter that Rome is rife with rumours of an impending announcement of a Consistory (when Cardinals are installed). He reports that Canada may be among the countries about to have a new Cardinal named (Archbishop Tom Collins - Toronto). Having studied under +Collins when he taught at St.Peters Seminary in London, I can only say that there are very few men whom I have encountered in life who possess the intellect, gentleness and faith as he does. He would be a very worthy candidate to become a prince of the Church. He will do Canada proud!!